Success!!

The truth of the matter, is that my kids love steak (as does my husband). It is also pretty much a universal truth that there are some days (weeks, months) that we can't get the food onto our toddler's plate fast enough!

Last night's London Broil was terrific - the brown sugar carmelized on the outside, and the soy sauce and spices provided just enough of a punch to make it quite savory. There was absolutely none left - not even a slice for a snack.

I wound up cooking the London Broil in the broiler (ironic, no?) - about 12 minutes per side - then I let it rest for about 10 minutes.

Another universal truth is the absolute peculiar taste preferences of 5 year olds. It should be noted here that my son, before age 4 - ate everything! And I mean everything! We took him with us to a fairly nice french bistro here in Chicago when he was about 7 months. He was sitting on my lap - we ordered pate - he actually grabbed the toast before the waitress could get the plate in front of me - and when he found the part with pate - just couldn't get enough.

Today - at 5 - he just wants everything plain. Plain bagel with cream cheese - plain cheese sandwich - plain pasta (with a liberal sprinkling of parmesan).

Interestingly enough, he will eat whatever I make - as long as it looks "plain" - and we have fun.

So the London Broil was a hit! To go along with it, I put out a platter of cherry tomatoes (his favorite) and steamed carrots 2 ways - plain and tossed with 2 tbsp of honey, a touch of pepper and about 1 tsp of five spice powder to complement the London Broil.

And so the negotiation began... 3 carrots and 1 tomato? No J... 2 tomatoes and 4 carrots.... "How about.... 3 carrots and 1 tomato..." etc.

After he ate his 3 carrots and 1 tomato, I made a "person" out of the spiced carrots and tomato. I ate each "leg", "arm" with great flourish and of course J wanted to do the same. And that is how my 5 year old boy ate about 1 cup of spiced carrots and at least 10 cherry tomatoes.